Introduction Piece
![Picture](/uploads/1/0/1/0/101007120/editor/img-4404_1.jpg?250)
I'm a budding Maker. I prefer low-tech to high-tech, but I'm learning.
Domino Challenge
Challenge: drop a marble and knock a pencil off the table. The marble may not touch the pencil. Available materials: a few dominoes, a marble, a piece of 8.5x11in paper, and a pencil. My partner and I set up a mini-catapult to drop the marble from, electing not to use the paper. It set off the chain reaction of dominoes, the last one knocking the pencil to the floor. Success!
Pencil Pull-Up Challenge
Challenge: a pencil on a string must be pulled up from the floor to the table top by dropping a marble. Available materials: anything in the room. We tied the string around a metal water bottle with water in it. After experimenting with dominoes, paper ramps and assorted items from our bags, we made it work by precariously balancing the water bottle on the edge of the table, dropping a big shooter marble onto a ramp, which rolled it into the water bottle. The water bottle fell to the floor, jerking the pencil up off the floor. It worked almost too well, flying through the air and nearly poking my partner's eye out! Success!
Heat Press
The Maker Educator logo was already prepared for us on t-shirt vinyl. I weeded--or picked out the unwanted parts from--the logo, centered it on my t-shirt, and used the heat press to apply it. Success!
Inkscape and the Vinyl Cutter
Transfer paper is applied and firmly burnished to the right side of the sticker. When I'm ready to stick it, the adhesive on the sticker is stronger than the adhesive on the transfer paper, allowing the insides of the A, Ps, Rs, and D and the ring around the oval to remain properly placed. Success!
Carvey Artifact using Easel by Inventables
I used Easel by Inventables to design a path for the Carvey wood cutter. I added acrylic craft paint to fill in the outlines. Success!
Laser Cutter!
I created a design for a wooden journal cover on Inkscape. Then, I sent it to the laser printer. Success!
3-D Printer
I did the Tinkercad tutorials to learn some basic skills with the program. I like that it's web based, so I didn't have to email files to the computer attached to the 3-D printer, I could just log in at that workstation. I learned that it's important to check measurements before printing. Success!